May 6-12: New writing and a party in the park

 

boishakhi_mela_gallery_1

Pic: Boishakhi Mela

This week there is lots of drama, with new writing festivals in Hackney and Lewisham, and a colourful highlight is the Mela in Victoria Park on Sunday.

 


Generation Game at the Yard Theatre New Writers on the Yard Theatre stage

Tuesday April 30 – Saturday July 6

The Yard Theatre, Hackney Wick, E9 5EN

The Generation Game season continues, where the theatre will give the chance to new writers to showcase their work. This week the Sunrise Curry Club will be serving up curries and spicy snacks at reasonable prices. KULL and Thought Forms will also perform. KULL music has been described as “a translucent fabric of interlaced guitar and bass harmonies with sprawling vocals.” Free entry.  For more information go to their website.

ATP presents Eraas & The KVB

Wednesday May 8, 8pm

Birthdays, 33–35 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston, N16 8BJ

All Tomorrows Parties, the legendary festival promoter, is running a night which is set to feature two bands that make some of the most interesting contemporary dark atmospheric music. Eraas, featuring two ex-members of post-rock band Apse, just released their self-titled album on Felte Records. Their sound is characterised by a haunting ambience, tribal rhythms, throbbing bass lines and vocals strangled with reverb. London based duo the KVB are set to support, originally the solo project of Klaus Von Barrel before he was joined by girlfriend Kat Day on synths. They have released two albums which combine shoegazing guitars with minimal synth melodies against a backdrop pulsating drum machine patterns and have established themselves as a popular act in Europe following dates in France, Greece and Germany. Ticket are priced at £7.

A Walk in the Park

A Walk in the Park

Tuesday April 30 – Friday July 19

Half Moon Young People Theatre, 43 White Horse Road, E1 0ND

Local artist Liz Loveless exhibits a collection of screenprints and illustrations in her latest exhibition, A Walk in the Park, in Limehouse. Liz explores subjects from unexpected angles allowing the audience to look differently at the familiar. When we are children, the world looks different simply because we see it from an adult’s knee height: Liz’s fascinating work reminds us of this and as a result, offers us a refreshing artistic perspective. Free entry.

Backstep — Beatbox and music at the RichMix

Friday, May 10, 8pm

35–47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 6LA

Backstep — Music for 8 Voices and Beatboxer is an evening featuring London artists performing a mix of jazz, soul, electronica and opera. The event also features the 2008 UK Champion and 2012 World Finalist Beatboxer MC Zani. Tickets are £5 in advance and £7 on the door.

Mela Festival in Victoria Park

Sunday, May 12, 12 noon–7.30pm

Victoria Park, E3 5SN

For the first time the annual Mela Festival will be held in Victoria Park this weekend. The festival celebrates Bangladeshi culture with music, performances, market stalls and a procession.  More than 275,000 visitors are expected to attend the festival this year. For more info visit the website.

Brockley Jack Studio Theatre

Write Now 4

Tuesday, May 7 - Saturday, May 25

Brockley Jack, 410 Brockley Road, SE4 2DH

New drama festival Write Now 4 is taking place this week and next at Brockley Jack studio theatre. This week, two plays set in hospitals. On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, catch The Magic Hour by Martin McNamara, a darkly comic family drama about mourning. On Tuesday and Thursday, Bump is a play about two old friends who reconnect as their partners are about to give birth in the same ward. All tickets are £7 and start at 8pm. There are also workshops for new playwrights on every Saturday until May 25.

Goldsmiths Music Presents PureGold 

Thursday, May 9, 6pm–10pm

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX

PureGold is a six-week festival in Deptford and New Cross showcasing the wealth of musical talent from Goldsmiths. It begins this week with a lavish launch event at the Southbank Centre. Goldsmiths has partnered with leading electronic producer Matthew Herbert, founder of Accidental Records, to launch NX Records - a new independent label, run by and for artists and students. An evening of eclectic live performances on Thursday will kick off the festivities. Free entry.

Untouchable

Tuesday May 7, 8pm

The Spread Eagle, 39-41 Katharine Street, Croydon, CR0 1NX

The film club running the Save the David Lean Cinema Campaign is continuing to screen films that would normally have been shown in the closed-down venue. Locals have the opportunity to enjoy Untouchable at the Spread Eagle pub this Tuesday.

The film is directed by Oliver Nakache and Eric Toledano, starring Francois Cluzet as a quadriplegic French millionaire who employs Driss (Omar Sy), a candidate with no intention to take the job, as his carer. The newly created duo changes their lives profoundly.

Sam Gayton, children's author

Children's author Sam Gayton visits Ashburton Library

Friday, May 10, 4pm

Shirley Road, Croydon, CR9 7AL

The children's author and playwright Sam Gayton will visit the library on Wednesday afternoon for an interactive workshop about his writing. Sam has written a number of stories including The Snow Merchant and Lilliput, and describes himself as an author who likes writing about little people, like the Oompa Loompas and the Borrowers. Tickets are free from Ahsburton Library.

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